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Senior Lecturer

Research Interests:Dr Hughes is a criminologist and Senior Research Fellow at the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre. She works as part of the multi-disciplinary Drug Policy Modelling Program (DPMP) which seeks to improve Australian drug policy by identifying what works, translating research evidence and engaging directly with policy makers. Dr Hughes' prime focus is improving understanding of the effects of different legislative regimes and law enforcement approaches, and the role of law enforcement relative to other aspects of drug policy.

Projects include: the impacts of the Portuguese decriminalisation of illicit drug use; mapping out police and criminal justice diversionary policies throughout Australia; identifying optimum policing responses for responding to MDMA and determining legal thresholds for serious drug trafficking offences. Projects have often been undertaken in collaboration with Australian policy makers, including Queensland Health and Police, NSW Police and the ACT Department of Justice and Community Safety, or international organisations, including the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction. Other interests include analysing the policy processes by which drug policy reform occurs.

Member - International Society for the Study of Drug Policy; Australian and New Zealand Society of Criminology; European Society of Criminology; and UNSW Criminology and Criminal Justice Research Network.

Hughes CE; Stevens A, 2015, 'A resounding success or a disastrous failure: Re-examining the interpretation of evidence on the portuguese decriminalization of illicit drugs', in New Approaches to Drug Policies: A Time for Change, pp. 137 - 162, http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/9781137450999.0016

Belackova V; Ritter A; Shanahan M; Hughes CE, 2017, 'Assessing the concordance between illicit drug laws on the books and drug law enforcement: Comparison of three states on the continuum from “decriminalised” to “punitive”', International Journal of Drug Policy, vol. 41, pp. 148 - 157, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2016.12.013

Hughes CE, 2009, 'Capitalising upon political opportunities to reform drug policy: A case study into the development of the Australian "Tough on Drugs-Illicit Drug Diversion Initiative"', International Journal of Drug Policy, vol. 20, pp. 431 - 437, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2008.12.003

Hughes CE, 2007, 'Evidence-based policy or policy-based evidence? The role of evidence in the development and implementation of the illicit drug diversion initiative', Drug and Alcohol Review, vol. 26, pp. 363 - 368, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09595230701373859

Hughes CE, 'The trajectories of cannabis and tobacco policies in the United States, Uruguay, Canada and Portugal: is more cross-substance learning possible outside the United States?', Addiction, http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/add.13954

Hulme SR; Djordjevic D; Hughes CE; Nielsen S, 2017, 'The role of health practitioners in the diversion of pharmaceutical drugs for non-medical use in Australia', in The role of health practitioners in the diversion of pharmaceutical drugs for non-medical use in Australia, Illicit Networks Workshop, Adelaide, presented at Illicit Networks Workshop, Adelaide, 10 - 12 December 2017

Conference Presentations

Hulme SR; Djordjevic D; Hughes C; Nielsen S, 2017, 'The role of health practitioners in the diversion of pharmaceutical drugs for non-medical use in Australia', in The role of health practitioners in the diversion of pharmaceutical drugs for non-medical use in Australia, Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol & other Drugs (APSAD), Melbourne, presented at Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol & other Drugs (APSAD), Melbourne, 12 - 15 November 2017